Chapter 237
Watching `[Mystic Tomato]` be destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, Hayato smiled.
Hert suddenly had an ominous premonition, as if he was being watched by something.
"When `[Mystic Tomato]` is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, its effect is activated." This time, Hayato didn't use his Duel Disk's auto-search function; instead, as if already knowing what card it was, he directly drew the top card of his Deck.
"From my Deck, I Special Summon a DARK Attribute monster with 1500 or less ATK!"
The invisible pressure grew stronger. Standing before Hayato, who had drawn a card and was about to play it, Hert's legs trembled uncontrollably. He felt like prey being hunted by a natural predator. He forced himself to say, "J-just a monster with 1500 ATK or less."
"Hmph, you don't care? No, are you just putting on a brave face?" Hayato noticed Hert's trembling legs and his weak, limp hands that almost couldn't hold the cards. "Then, I'll let you witness the might of a God!"
Hayato held the card high above his head, revealing it. Hert finally saw the true form of the card Hayato was about to Summon, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Level 10?!"
"Across millennia, the gates of life and death shall be opened once more! Overflow forth, ultimate God of creation and destruction!"
"`[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]`!!!"
Bearing the same name as "Viracocha," the Creator God and king of gods in Inca mythology, Hayato's ultimate Earthbound Immortal, obtained from the Nazca Lines in the DM Online Game World, was Summoned to the Field by `[Mystic Tomato]`'s effect!
Despite being a Creator God, Hert, looking at the colossal hawk-beast breaking free from the earth's shackles and soaring above the sky, felt as if he had fallen into a glacial river, unable to move a muscle.
The storm brought by its flapping wings seemed capable of extinguishing the flame of a soul; its instinctive cry could quell all desire for resistance; the crimson stripes on its body appeared forged from blood. This was no "Creator God"; it was clearly an Archfiend that had crawled out from the Underworld, intent on destroying the world!
`[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]` `[Level 10/DARK]`
`[Winged Beast/Effect Monster]`
`[ATK 1/DEF 1]`
Seeing the stats of Hayato's ultimate God appear, Hert was first stunned, then suddenly, as if forgetting his fear, he pointed at `[Wiraqocha Rasca]`'s ATK and DEF and burst out laughing: "Ha, haha, hahahahaha, is that ATK some kind of joke?"
"How can there be such a weak God? It's all an illusion, you can't fool me!" Hert tried to talk his way out of fear, and it seemed to work; his legs actually stopped trembling, if one ignored the puddle on the concrete beside his feet, identical to the one left by Duan Yu in the new version of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.
ATK 1, DEF 1. Let alone Hert, who was directly facing the Earthbound Immortal and desperately needed psychological comfort, even Yugi and the others observing the duel found it hard to believe the monster before them.
"Even though the pressure is so strong, its ATK is only 1?" Joey rubbed his arm, trying to smooth out his goosebumps. "Forget about High-Level Monsters; this kind of ATK is barely stronger than 0!"
"But even though its ATK and DEF are so low, I don't know why, I keep getting the illusion that some fierce beast is staring at me." Tristan's movements were perfectly synchronized with Joey's, both rubbing the goosebumps on their arms.
Téa had the same feeling: "Can something like that really be called a Duel Monster?"
"Earthbound Immortal, another new card crowned with the name 'God'?" Yugi subconsciously touched the `[Millennium Puzzle]` hanging on his chest. For some reason, he had a premonition that this `[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]` that Hayato had Summoned was an existence even older than the `[Millennium Puzzle]` itself, which was an archaeological artifact.
Even Yami Yugi, who shared Yugi's visual senses from within the `[Millennium Puzzle]`, felt the ancient aura emanating from the Earthbound Immortal: "Aibo, that monster is not on the same level as ordinary Duel Monsters at all; it's something far older than Duel Monsters."
The Pharaoh's Soul from three thousand years ago acutely sensed the deeper existence hidden within the `[Earthbound Immortal]` card.
And Hayato's Turn continued.
"`[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]` is the ultimate God, but a God must have a stage befitting it." Spreading his arms, Hayato surveyed the surrounding field, already ravaged by `[Earthbound Immortal]`'s emergence from the ground.
"If there is no `[Field Spell Card]` on the field, the `[Earthbound Immortal]` cannot maintain its existence. However, matching that risk is the God's immense power!" Hayato ignored Hert's monster on the field and pointed at him. "A mere fodder monster has no ability to obstruct a God's advance! `[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]`, Direct Attack the opponent Duelist!"
"Death Singularity!"
Dark purple energy flowed across `[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]`'s body. The crimson stripes on its body glowed, and with a flap of its wings, the giant hawk-beast dove towards Hert, shattering the ground beneath him in an instant!
"Ugh, aahhh!"
[Hert: 4000 → 3000 LP]
Although already severely damaged, the effect of `[Shrine of the Mind's Eye]` still persisted. Even with an ATK of only 1, under the `[Field Spell]`'s effect, `[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]` still dealt 1000 points of damage to Hert.
However, despite it being only 1000 points of damage, Hert was wailing in agony, as if he had taken 4000 points of damage at once.
Of course, this was because he wasn't attacked by an ordinary monster, but by `[Wiraqocha Rasca]`, which possessed the strongest power among all `[Earthbound Immortals]`!
As a card used decades later by the Dark Signers, who were opposed to the Crimson Dragon's chosen Signers, it was no exaggeration to call `[Wiraqocha Rasca]` an embodiment of evil. The day the card took form also resolved Hayato's question of "why this card required so much dark power."
With so much dark power condensed into a single card, `[Wiraqocha Rasca]` inevitably leaked power with each attack it performed. In other words, every attack it participated in could be considered a Shadow Game.
This was also why Hayato had never used this card in duels against ordinary Duelists.
"`[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]` is the supreme God; it cannot be obstructed, nor can it be chosen as an attack target. Only the God itself can unilaterally inflict divine punishment again and again!" Hayato sneered as he Set all the remaining cards in his hand. "I Set two cards. I end my Turn."
`[Hayato: 3000 LP, Hand 0]`
`[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]` `[ATK 1]`
`[Set Card] x2`
`Field: [Shrine of the Mind's Eye]`
On the surface, both sides had 3000 LP, and only one monster existed on each field. Furthermore, Hert's `[Gear Golem the Moving Fortress]` had higher ATK than Hayato's `[Earthbound Immortal]`.
"My Turn..."
But Hert's fingers trembled as he drew the `[Exodia]` card from the top of his Deck. He couldn't see any hope of defeating Hayato.
Able to inflict damage directly to his LP, and then, due to `[Shrine of the Mind's Eye]`'s effect, forced to modify that damage to 1000, Hayato would win in just three more Turns. But Hert could see that the card he would Draw next Turn was yet another `[Left Arm of the Forbidden One]` of `[Exodia]`, a duplicate of a card already in his hand!
To assemble all the `[Exodia]` cards in his hand as quickly as possible, Hert had placed three full sets of `[Exodia]` in his Deck, along with various draw cards like `[Pot of Greed]` and `[Graceful Charity]`. However, precisely because of this, he was also quite prone to drawing duplicate cards.
"I Summon a monster in face-down Defense Position, then I change `[Gear Golem the Moving Fortress]` to Defense Position. I end my Turn."
The extra `[Left Arm of the Forbidden One]` in his hand was Summoned by Hert as a shield, but he knew well that no matter how powerful a shield it was, it would simply be ignored by Hayato's `[Earthbound Immortal]`.
`[Hert: 3000 LP, Hand 5]`
`[Gear Golem the Moving Fortress]` `[DEF 2200]`
`[Face-down Defense Position monster]`
"Then, My Turn, Draw!" Hayato drew a card, a smile appearing on his face. "My, my, it's rare for a God to make an appearance, but is its first battle really going to end so quickly?"
"You, Rare Hunter of the Rare Hunters, what a pity, this duel will be declared over this Turn!" Hayato pointed at `[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]` soaring in the sky. "I Activate the ultimate God's final effect! I will skip my Battle Phase this Turn!"
"In exchange, `[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]` will now unleash its strongest, most malevolent power: Polar Star Obedience!"
`[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]` soaring in the sky slowed its movements. The crimson stripes on its body gradually dimmed, and its form became somewhat transparent, but Hert certainly didn't think it was about to leave the field.
Sure enough, the next moment, the already ravaged ground of the `[Shrine of the Mind's Eye]` cracked open again. Several light blue lines burst from the earth and linked to `[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]` in the sky; the Archfiend that had broken free from the earth was finally captured by the earth once more.
Although it lost its ability to fly freely, by linking to the earth, `[Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca]`'s true power was unleashed!
A terrifying suction force emanated from the `[Earthbound Immortal]`. Before Hert could even react, he saw his LP plummet like a diver!
3000
2900
2700
2300
1500
1!
In just a single breath, his LP, which had just been 3000, instantly dropped to only 1?!
An indescribable sense of emptiness swept over Hert's entire body, as if a part of his soul had been stolen. His vision swam. In his last moments of consciousness, he saw Hayato play the card he had just Drawn:
"Activate, `[Goblin Thief]`..."
(end of chapter)